Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.
S.M. writes: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) laid down enforcement rules for whisky investment companies some months ago.
However, Riverside Whisky Partners Limited is still blatantly breaching those rules. Why will no one hold them to account?
Dram Riverside Whisky Partners Limited has been accused of breaching new rules for whisky investment companies
Tony Hetherington replies: Selling casks of whisky as an investment needs no vetting, authorisation or regulation and has no compensation scheme if anything goes wrong.
A growing number of companies have moved into this sector, and the City of London Police has urged investors to be cautious, quoting the Trading Standards advice: ‘Casks are being sold as a long-term investment because whisky takes time to mature in the cask.
‘This means it could be several years before investors realise their investments aren’t performing.’
They were not referring specifically to Riverside Whisky Partners (RWP). However, RWP did clash with the ASA over claims that investors could expect ‘annual returns of 13 per cent to 20 per cent tax free’.
The ASA’s Enforcement Notice, issued to all whisky investment firms, made clear that any such claims needed documentary evidence.
When the ASA stepped in, RWP withdrew its forecast. But other claims remained.
When I looked at RWP’s website, it displayed the names and logos of the Forces charity SSAFA, Dementia UK and the King’s College Hospital Charity, with the claim that RWP sponsored them.
Dementia UK told me: ‘Riverside Whisky Partners has never been a sponsor of Dementia UK. We have followed up with the firm to request our logo is removed.’
A manager at the hospital charity said: ‘I can confirm that Riverside Whisky Partners is not a sponsor of King’s College Hospital Charity.’
And a spokesman for SSAFA told me: ‘There is no record of SSAFA ever having a relationship with Riverside Whisky Partners.’
RWP’s website also had a section headed ‘Awards’, displaying the names and logos of three whisky industry bodies.
The organisers of the World Whiskies Awards told me that RWP had not won any such honour, adding: ‘We have written to RWP asking for the logo to be removed, and have been ignored on several occasions.’
Roy Duff, co-founder of the Online Scotch Whisky Awards, told me RWP had won no award and did not have permission to use its logo. He described RWP’s promotion as ‘misleading and a misuse of our brand’.
And the Scottish Whisky Awards told me they have made no awards to RWP, saying: ‘We first requested our logo be removed from this website in November 2022.’
The ASA has also warned whisky investment firms not to claim they have featured in the Press unless those articles are genuine, saying: ‘If you have paid to be featured, that is likely to be considered misleading.’
Under the heading ‘Recently in the Press’, RWP provides links to three publications. Two are dead while the third leads to an article written by RWP, described as ‘sponsored’, meaning it is simply an advertisement.
I put all this to RWP boss Neil Cahillane, who insisted that donations had been made to the charities but may have been from him personally or a connected company.
He said the logos would be removed, adding: ‘I must personally apologise, as a director, for this mistake.’
He accepted that the Press coverage consisted of ‘advertorials’, but told me this had been approved by a marketing company.
He did not mention the ASA warning on the subject and offered no comment on the misuse of the whisky industry awards logos.
None of this has anything to do with the price at which Cahillane’s company sells its casks. And it certainly does not touch on whether the value of that whisky will rise or fall over the many years before it is bottled and sold.
But it does raise the question of whether I would rely on RWP’s sales pitch. The answer is no.
Account’s wake-up call
D.A. writes: I am getting in touch on behalf of a local transport history society which allowed its Santander account to become dormant after being advised that reviving it would be simple. This has turned out not to be the case, now that the society wishes to use its funds again. I wonder if you can help?
Tony Hetherington replies: The society had three trustees, however one died and the other two are elderly. None was replaced and the society became dormant. Some of its supporters, yourself included, want to revive it and merge with a similar local history organisation. I asked Santander to help and it told me it needed proof of identity from the remaining trustees.
This was no problem with one trustee, but the other is 87 and has no passport or driving licence. His travel pass was accepted when he voted in the recent elections but was not acceptable to Santander.
I suggested he apply for a driving licence – even though he wouldn’t use it – as this would be acceptable.
However, I am pleased to say Santander accepted a letter from HMRC as ID proof. The account is now unblocked and the two trustees can use it and approve the merger.
- If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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